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| Piú votate - Mercury |
ZO-Mercury01_Messenger.jpgApproaching Mercury66 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day", del 16 Gennaio 2008:"Two days ago, the MESSENGER Spacecraft became only the second in Human History to swoop past Mercury. The last spacecraft to visit the Sun's closest Planet was Mariner 10, over 35 years ago.
Mariner 10 was not able to photograph Mercury's entire surface, and the images it did send back raised many questions. Therefore, much about planet Mercury remains unknown. This week's MESSENGER flyby was only the first of three. Over the next few years MESSENGER will swing past Mercury twice more and finally orbit in 2011, but MESSENGER is currently moving too fast to enter orbit around Mercury now.
This image was taken by MESSENGER two days ago upon approach to Mercury.
Many detailed images of Mercury are expected to be sent back over the next few days. The data acquired by MESSENGER will help better understand how Mercury's surface was formed, and why it is so dense".MareKromium
(5 voti)
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A-Mercury-Antoniadi Ridge.jpgThe Antoniadi Ridge of Mercury71 visiteMercury Data and Statistics:
Mass (kg) = 3.303e+23
Mass (Earth = 1) = 5,5271e-02
Equatorial radius = 2.439,7 Km
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) = 3,8252e-01
Mean density (gm/cm^3) = 5,42
Mean distance from the Sun = 57.910.000 Km
Mean distance from the Sun (Earth = 1) = 0,3871
Rotational period (days) = 58,6462
Orbital period (days) = 87,969
Mean orbital velocity = 47,88 Km per second
Tilt of axis = 0,00°
Orbital inclination = 7,004°
Equatorial surface gravity (m/sec^2) = 2,78
Equatorial escape velocity = 4,25 Km per second
Magnitude (Vo) = - 1.9
Mean surface temperature = 179°C
Maximum surface temperature = 427°C
Minimum surface temperature = - 173°C
Atmospheric composition: Helium 42%, Sodium 42%, Oxygen 15%, Other 1%
(5 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Hill-PIA18248-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgMercurian Hill (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)141 visiteThis Vertical Relief (a very small Hill perhaps?), photographed by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on March, 25, 2014, lies towards the Edge of Mercury's expansive Northern Plains. The Sun, at the time when the picture was taken, was already very low on the Local Mercurian Horizon (---> only 6°), and this circumstance caused the creation of a long Shadow, approximately 3,3 Km (such as about 2,04 miles) long.
Using a simple formula (actually, it is a Trigonometric relationship) - and knowing, in addition to the length of the Shadow, the Local Solar Incidence Angle - it was easy to calculate the height of the Hill, which is approx.(~) 340 meters (such as about (~) 0,2111 miles).
This Vertical Relief, according to NASA Planetary Scientists, could be (even thougb we, as IPF, stronglt disagree with such an hypothesis) a partial remnant of the Rim of an old Impact Crater that, some time in a very remote past of Mercury, was flooded (---> invaded and then almost completely covered) by fluid Lava. North is to the right of this image.
Date acquired: March, 25th, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 38066727
Image ID: 6000245
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 83,92° North
Center Longitude: 242,30° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 84,0° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 6,0° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 1,9°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 82,0°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 18248) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Crater-PIA18372-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgUnnamed Crater with Hollows (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)129 visiteAs the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft passes progressively closer to the Planet Mercury, we are able to see Always better resolved Surface Features in the images that the Spacecraft returns. Here, in this frame, at a pixel scale of 9 meters, we can see the Eastern Portion of an Unnamed Impact Crater approx. 13 Km (such as about 8,073 miles) in diameter. The Inner Wall of the Crater is replete (---> full of), as you can see, with smaller, superposed Impact Craters, some of which appear elongated (---> ellipsoidal), possibly because they impacted on the larger Crater's inclined Inner Wall.
Interestingly, there are also Bright Spots on the Sunlit Portion of this Unnamed Crater's Wall (Right Side - Dx - of the frame, at about 4 o'clock), and that is exctly the right place where we might reasonably expect to see, in a near future, some new "Hollows" (actually, we, as IPF, do believe that the Surface Features visible in the area indicated by NASA are ALREADY FORMED "Hollows" whose shapes and dimensions, probably, are still in course of modification).
Date acquired: March, 3rd, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 36136338
Image ID: 5862963
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 56,30° North
Center Longitude: 301,60° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 59,3° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 30,7° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 43,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 102,3°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 18372) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Crater-PIA18247-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgUnnamed Crater with Hollows (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)72 visiteThis frame, obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on Frebruary, 25, 2014, which shows us a Mercurian Northern Hemisphere's Unnamed Impact Crater - approx. 12,5 Km - such as about 7,76 miles in diameter -, suggested a question that we would like to ask you as much as ourselves: do those extremely common and bright (---> highly reflective) Mercurian Surface Features known as "Hollows" form preferentially on those Crater Walls (---> Inner and Outer Slopes as wll as thier Rims) which receive a more direct (---> and therefore intense) Sunlight?
In the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury, the Northern Walls of the Impact Craters are frequently flooded by a very intense Sunlight (meaning that they are almost always VERY well illuminated), while their Southern Walls only receive grazing Sunlight and therefore they are more often in Shadow; on the other hand (and we just say, "obviously"), in the Mercurian Southern Hemisphere, the Impact Craters' Northern Walls are the ones which receive just grazing Sunlight (and therefore are much less illuminated) while the Southern Walls get more direct (and therefore stronger) Sunlight. Said that, Planetary Scientists, on the base of their observations (mostly founded on the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's images), believe that the greater the Solar Heating is experienced by the Walls of any given Impact Crater, the more Hollows will form on its (both Inner and Outer) Slopes and Rims (in other words: the direct Solar Illumination should reasonably be an important - if not decisive - factor in the formation of Hollows on the Walls of the Impact Craters located on both Mercury's Hemispheres).
Images like the one here can help us to answer this question and what we see in today's APOD is found in an area of focus (---> interest) for the current NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's Low-Altitude Imaging Campaign. Perhaps, in the (near) future, we may know more about all this: let's just wait an see what happens...
Date acquired: February, 25th, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 35646241
Image ID: 5828285
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42,92° North
Center Longitude: 330,90° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 43,5° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 46,5° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 46,1°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 30,1
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON-Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 18247) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Craters-PIA17827-PCF-LXTT-IPF-2.jpgMercurian Nightfall (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)92 visiteWith the Sun already extremely low in the Sky over this Mercurian Region located in the Northern Hemisphere of the Innermost Planet of the Solar System (the Sun is only about 8° above the imaged Local Horizon), the long, deep and dark Shadows created by this specific Spatial Configuration, accentuate the very uneven (---> highly irregular) nature of the Terrain.
This picture, which is just a Magnified Crop taken from yesterdy's frame, shows, to the most attentive Viewers, a very unusually-looking Surface Feature whose origin and nature cannot be identified with certainty. However, it could - probably - be an oblong Secondary Crater with a strange - and still illuminated - Central Peak, or, maybe, a Wall-like Relief that divides the Floor of a Pit Crater. Again, as we said herebefore, a definitive answer about what we are actually looking at, cannot be given at this time.
The Feature here, if you wish to take a look at the so-called Contextual Image (CTX Frame), is located on the lower portion of the frame, slightly towards the left (Sx).
Date acquired: November, 12th, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26543484
Image ID: 5181047
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 67,11° North
Center Longitude: 249,80° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 82,0° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 8,0° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 36,9°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 118,9°
This picture (which is a crop taken by an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON-Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17827) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Wang_Meng_Crater-PIA17239-PCF-LXTT-IPF-01.jpgWang Meng Crater, in detail (Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)76 visiteThe large Wang Meng Impact Basin (whose diameter is approx. 165 Km - such as about 102,465 miles) can clearly be see in this Extra Detail Magnification which is a crop taken mosaic made out of three frames obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on April, 20, 2013. This Absolute Natural Color view of the Impact Basin shows us, among many other extremely interesting things, the strong contrast between the dark Low Reflectance Material (or "LRM", for short) which is located on the Eastern Portion of Wang Meng's Peak Ring and the brighter Western Portion of the Peak Ring itself, as well as the bright white Rays that spread across the lower right side (---> West) of the picture.
While some of the Hollows existing on and near the Crater's Peak Ring and Outer Rim are, somehow, "associated" (here and there, and always unevenly) with Low Reflectance Material, as evidenced by their bright white halos, the Rays that are visible here (---> such as towards the Western and South/Western sides of the frame) are, in fact, coming from other Impact Craters located in Wang Meng's proximities - including the small, fresh Impact Crater visible towards the upper right corner of the picture, just in betwenn the Peak Ring and the Outer Rim of Wang Meng.
Date acquired: April, 20th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 8743264, 8743256, 8743260
Images ID: 3915336, 3915334, 3915335
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6,33° North
Center Longitude: 254,10° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 41,6° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the pictures were taken, was about 48,4° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 0,2°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 41,7°
This frame (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's false colors and Map-Projected image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17239) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Mercurian Impact Crater "Wang Meng"), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Mena_Crater-PIA15202-PCF-LXTT-IPF-00.jpgMena Crater, in context (Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)65 visiteThe (relatively) young Rays of Mena Crater (approx. 15 Km - such as about 9,315 miles - in diameter) contrast brightly against the surrounding Mercurian Surface, though these beautiful and colorful Rays will gradually fade, and disappear, with time (Eons, in fact).
Furthermore, the asymmetric pattern of the Rays themselves, with an obvious gap in their South-Western direction, may be due to the angle at which the Impact that formed the Crater occurred or, maybe, it can also be due to the circumstance that Mena Crater formed on a very uneven Surface, such as just right on top of the Outer Rim of a larger, pre-existing, Impact Crater, as it can well be seen in this contextual image-mosaic. We, as IPF, believe that the second scenario which was mentioned herebefore is quite more plausible than the first one (even though a combination of the two scenarios/factors cannot be excluded).
Date acquired: November, 12th, 2011
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229581348, 229581352, 229581356
Images ID: 1003074, 1003075, 1003076
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0,97° South
Center Longitude: 234,00° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 29,7° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 60,3° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 16,3°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 46,0°
This frame (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's false colors and Map-Projected image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 15202) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Western Edge of the Mercurian Impact Crater "Mena"), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Tolstoj_Basin-PIA16663-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgTolstoj Basin and Surroundings (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)72 visiteThis image of the Limb of the Planet Mercury shows, among other fascinating Surface Features, the location of the Impact Basin Tolstoj (approximately 350 Km - such as about 217,35 miles - in diameter). The interior of Tolstoj is filled with smooth Plains while the exterior is largely made of the so-called Low Reflectivity Material (or LRO, for short). Just to give to our Readers an idea of the real dimensions and proportions of what is visible on this part of Mercury, you have to consider that today's frame is approx. 2770 Km (such as about 1720,17 miles) across.
Date acquired: February 12th, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 212797716
Image ID: 202274
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 8,04° South
Center Longitude: 200,07° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 60,1° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 29,9° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 48,1°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 96,8°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16663) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Tyagaraja_Crater-PIA17051-PCF-LXTT-IPF-2.jpgTyagaraja Crater (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)89 visiteThis colorful picture of Tyagaraja Crater (which is about 97 Km - such as approx. 60,23 miles - in diameter) and its surroundings shows us many different types of Material that exist on the Surface of Mercury. For instance, the very bright, white areas visible on the Floor of the Crater (in particular to the North/East, at about 3 o'clock) are the very "famous" (and common, on Mercury) Hollows; as a matter of fact, they are so much brighter than the surrounding Areas that they appear slightly over-saturated in this particular image.
The yellow/red/orangish spots located near the center of the Crater are, most likely, Volcanic Materials which surround a Pyroclastic Vent. Last, but not least, the very Dark Material (almost black) that is visible all around Tyagaraja Crater (and, particularly, towards the South/Western Regions surrounding Tyagaraja - such as the areas located in the lower left (Sx) side of the frame) is Low Reflectance Material (LRM).
Just out of curiosity, if you look carefully at the outline of Tyagaraja Crater, you may notice that its shape is quite unusual for a Primary Impact Crater: in fact, its shape it is not a "circle", but rather an (almost regular, on its Western side) "hexagon". Also, the Inner Slopes of the Crater show clear evidence of multiple Layers (and such a circumstance, at least for the time being, is really hard, for Planetary Scientists, to fully understand and explain).
Date acquired: April 25th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 9232956, 9232948, 9232944
Images ID: 3950118, 3950116, 3950115
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 3,94° North
Center Longitude: 211,20° East
Resolution: 22 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 13,4° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 76,6° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 18,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 31,5°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft Map Projected false color image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17051) has been additionally processed, cropped, contrast enhanced, magnified and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Berkel_Crater-PIA16890-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgBerkel Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credts for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)94 visiteBerkel Crater (a Mercurian Impact Crater that was so named after the Turkish painter and printmaker, Sabri Berkel) is a so-called "Complex Impact Crater" (approx. 24 Km - such as a little less than 15 miles - in diameter) that sits inside the larger Ellington Basin, which is located in the low Latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere of Mercury. Berkel's interior contains some kind of Material (so far unknown) that, as you can clearly see in today's image, is way darker than the surrounding Terrain; furthermore, a large number of the vey common Mercurian Surface Features, known as "Hollows", can also be seen all over the Floor of the Crater itself.
This image was acquired as a targeted set of stereo images. Targeted Stereo Observations are acquired at resolutions much higher than that of the 200-meter/pixel Stereo Base Map. These targets acquired with the NAC enable the detailed Topography of Mercury's Surface to be determined for a local area of specific interest.
Date acquired: February, 5th, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4159492
Image ID: 3589683
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 13,85° South
Center Longitude: 26,56° East
Resolution: 71 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 30,3° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 59,7° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 29,3°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 52,6°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16890) has been additionally processed and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
(4 voti)
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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-Flare-Fake-PIA16909-PCF-LXTT-IPF-0.jpgThis is NOT a "Game"!98 visiteThis beautiful and, as you can see, deeply suggestive image has been recently taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft, while it was imaging the Limb of the Planet Mercury. What you see here could reasonably be an "Outgassing" - like the controversial ones which, sometimes, have been seen occurring on our Moon (actually, the so-called "Outgassings" are events in which Volatile-rich Materials are vented from deep inside the Lunar Interior, up to the Lunar Surface - specifically, we can think about Elements like Radon, Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide, and/or Carbon Dioxide - and which might be the visible result of Low Level (---> Residual) Lunar Volcanic and/or Tectonic Activities). These Outgassing Phenomena, as you should know, are commonly put in the Cathegory of the so-called "Transient Lunar Phenomena" (or TLP, for short).-
On the other hand, this "Flare" might also be the result of an extremely unlikely (but yet possible) Residual Active Volcanic Activity (so, in this scenario, we would be looking at an actual Volcanic Plume) which happened on the innermost Planet of the Solar System: a Planet that has always been considered by the Planetary Scientists - as well as by the General Scientific Community -, like a (Geologically speaking) "Completely Dead Celestial Body".
It is also possible (even though we, as IPF, believe that this very last hypothesis is the least likely of the three) that the "Flare-like Light" seen here, on the Mercurian Limb, could be the evidence of an Impact (i.e.: a Meteor Strike) that has just occurred. However, if this hypothesis were true, we could also assume, just by looking at the shapes of both the Main Plume and the Upper Cloud which can be seen right on top of the Plume itself, that the Celestial Object that hit the Surface of Mercury should/must have followed a nearly (---> almost perfectly) Vertical Impact Trajectory (and this is another rather unlikely - better yet: extremely rare - circumstance).
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16909 - but now, as we wrote herebefore, removed) has been additionally processed and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.
Important Note for the Readers: the People working at NASA for The MESSENGER Team implied that this picture was (once again, after "Caduceus") some sort of "practical joke", created to celebrate the Worldwide famous "April Fools' Day". Well, we, as IPF, believe that if this picture, as it seems, is actually a "joke" (---> a fake, in this case), it really is a VERY, VERY poor and stupid one. Please, forgive us for being so direct, but even though some People may think that this idea of making a practical joke out of a MESSENGER b/w frame was "funny" and "educational" (and, in a pretty distorted way, it probably was so), we honestly believe that this silly "stunt" only proves, in a LOUD and CLEAR WAY, how easily, once you have the right REPUTATION, skills and means, the original RAW image-data received from Space can be corrupted/tampered with, either by adding or by removing Features.
As you can also easily understand, the implications arising out of this "stunt" are, actually, countless and, in a way (like we already underlined in the past), quite disturbing...
For your reference and information, please visit http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=1133MareKromium
(4 voti)
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